Follow the author of this article

1. Smoke

Ah, the golden age of flying. When air hostesses were glamorous, passengers were both dashing and polite, and fliers could enjoy an unfiltered cigarette with their G&T. Given that smoking is now banned in just about every public place in Britain, and the terror fears that grip the aviation industry today, it seems mad that air passengers were permitted to light up a Lucky Strike in the sky as recently as the 1990s.

The tobacco-stained "golden age"

“Having a smoking section in the plane was like having a ‘peeing section’ in a pool,” quipped Quora forum user Robert Moutal earlier this year. “It was a horrible, horrible experience because there was no escaping the smell.”

Although planes were divided into smoking and non-smoking sections, the cigarette stench permeated the cabin.

“The whole place reeked of smoke. You’d get off and all your clothes would smell like smoke,” said frequent flier Colin Teubner.

“I once sat on the smoking section of a flight to Tel Aviv and many times during the 10+ hour journey I was asked to get up and ‘lend’ my seat to passengers who wished to smoke,” added Moutal.

2. Get sloshed

Ask for a third red wine these days, even on a long-haul flight, and chances are you’ll have your card marked by the cabin crew. The rise of in-flight misbehaviour means anything other than “moderate” drinking raises eyebrows, but it wasn’t always thus. “There was a time - before low-cost airlines - when drinks were free and handed out liberally on all flights, along with a complimentary meal,” recalls Telegraph Travel’s Nick Trend, wistfully. “Beer, spirits or wine as an aperitif at any time of day, more wine with the meal, then more postprandial spirits if required. For some reason there was never a problem with air rage caused by excessive consumption - those who over indulged simply fell into a deep slumber for the rest of the journey.”

Another cocktail, madam?Credit:
anjelagr - Fotolia

3. Witness discrimination

The requirements for flight attendants back in the Sixties would have feminists wincing today. For BOAC, they had to be single, between the ages of 21 and 27, and with a "neatly proportioned figure" and "pleasing appearance". Furthermore, they could only join for a maximum of 10 years.

An old BOAC poster

US carriers during that period had similarly stringent requirements. In 1966, a New York Times classified ad for stewardesses at Eastern Airlines listed these requirements: "A high school graduate, single (widows and divorcees with no children considered), 20 years of age (girls 19 1/2 may apply for future consideration). 5'2" but no more than 5'9", weight 105 to 135 in proportion to height."

6. Nose around the cockpit

The classic Airplane! scene where Joey meets the highly inappropriate Captain Oveur (“You ever seen a grown man naked?”) couldn’t happen today for two very simple reasons. It is now considered improper to make jokes concerning airline pilots talking to young boys about Turkish prisons, and terror fears mean the cockpit door is kept firmly closed to passengers.

7. Watch a film (at the same time as everyone else)

Remember when everyone watched the same film (Cool Runnings, perhaps) on screens that descended from the aircraft ceiling? The whole plane laughed as one when Sanka kissed his lucky egg. That camaraderie has been ditched in favour of “movies on demand”. What a pity.

13. Recline your seat

14. Carry a knife

You know, for whittling.

15. Turn up less than an hour before their flight

Time was that passengers could arrive, quaff some champagne and caviar, swat aside an official with their hardback blue British passport, and then stroll across the tarmac to their plane. Now check-in desks close an hour before take-off due to the rigmarole of getting through security.

16. Get served a Love Potion by a stewardess in hotpants

Courtesy of Southwest Airlines, circa 1971.

How did they get away with it?Credit:
This content is subject to copyright./Photoshot